A PIONEERING centre to rehabilitate young offenders in Highampton was highlighted at the Conservative Party Conference yesterday (Wednesday) as the way forward for the Criminal Justice System.
C-FAR (Centre for Adolescent Rehabilitation) was described by Shadow Home Secretary Oliver Letwin as ?the country?s most successful programme for dealing with persistent young offenders?.
The Life Change Programme by C-FAR, for 18-24-year-old prolific male offenders, has been operating for just over two years in which time it has been estimated that it has saved the Treasury £5-million.
In his speech to the Tory Party Conference Mr Letwin, who visited C-FAR in July, said the charity?s work was a model for the future.
?The number of persistent young offenders has increased by 58 per cent since 1997 but C-FAR shows how the voluntary sector can succeed where Government is failing,? he said. ?The young men who have been through the programme have achieved much lower reconviction rates than are usual for this group.?
To date, only 36 of the 125 trainees (29 per cent) who had passed through the programme have been reconvicted and, importantly, many young men were now forging new lives and becoming net contributors to society rather than debtors.
Mr Letwin said if the C-FAR programme was extended to 60 per cent of young people who were sentenced to more than three months in a young offenders? institution each year, by the end of Year Five there would be savings to the Criminal Justice System of £522-million annually.
?The costs of C-FAR are modest and the spending is extraordinarily cost-effective,? he said.
The Shadow Home Secretary described how during the eleven-week intensive programme in open custody at the centre in Highampton trainees took accredited courses in offending behaviour, anger management, drug and alcohol abuse, health, first aid, relationships, parenting, citizenship as well as information technology and key skills academic work.
He said stress was laid on self-discipline and personal responsibility and outdoor activities were used to facilitate team spirit, bonding leadership and confidence building, but added C-FAR was not ?a boot camp?.
Crucially, the eleven-week period of open custody was followed by nine months of intensive and well resourced mentoring and support. This focused on work with statutory and voluntary organisations to find the young men housing, further education, vocational training and employment.
?This is in marked contrast to the norm for young offenders? institution prisoners in our present national regime,? said Mr Letwin. ?They frequently do not have stable accommodation or any form of useful occupation when they leave the institution and with an overstretched probation service, there is no adequate mentoring system to keep an eye on them when they leave custody.?
Spokesman for C-FAR Richard White said the centre was delighted that the Conservative Party had acknowledged the C-FAR concept and all that it brought to the process of rehabilitation for young adult offenders.
?Whilst acknowledging that our statistics are still relatively small we are confident that the programme is making a significant impact upon reconviction rates and the lives of people who attend,? he said.
?The Conservative Party is one of many different agencies who support our work and we very much hope that Government ministers have time to visit us and see for themselves what is being achieved.?
Mr White said it was regrettable that of all Government departments, the Criminal Justice System had so far only contributed £160,000 towards C-FAR?s work.
?The vast majority of money has stemmed from charitable grants, private donations and the European Social Fund,? he said. ?In many ways C-FAR has been unofficially piloting some of the Government proposals set out in the Halliday Report and the White Paper including alternatives to custody through ?intensive community programmes with support and supervision?.